Silver exploring all options to address widespread tanking in the NBA

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated on Saturday that tanking has been “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory” and he is contemplating “every possible remedy” — including the possibility of revoking draft picks — to address the overt actions for which he fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers this week.

“In the past, there was a mutual understanding among partners regarding behavior,” Silver remarked prior to Saturday’s All-Star Saturday events. “What we are witnessing now is modern analytics revealing that the incentives are misaligned. …Are we observing behavior that is worse this year than in recent memory? Yes, in my opinion. This was the basis for those fines, and not only those fines but also for my assertion that we will be examining the entirety of circumstances this season concerning teams’ conduct, and I wanted to make it clear that teams should be aware.”

Silver commenced his press conference by mentioning a recent conversation with 97-year-old Bob Cousy about the inaugural All-Star Game in 1950, during which they both acknowledged the significant progress the game has made since then. This context influenced Silver’s perspective that after 75 years, it may be time to reconsider how the league conducts its draft, similar to the ongoing experimentation with the All-Star Game format.

Silver pointed out that discussions with general managers and other members of the league’s competition committee revealed that the incentive structure of the lottery has created ambiguity regarding whether the teams with the worst records are indeed the worst teams.

“If teams are manipulating their performance to secure higher draft picks even within a lottery, then the question arises … are they truly the worst-performing teams?” Silver questioned. “It is not evident to me, for instance, that the 30th performing team is significantly worse than the 22nd performing team, especially if there is an incentive to perform poorly for a better draft pick.

“It presents a bit of a dilemma. As I mentioned, the All-Star is 75 years old. The league is 80 years old. It is time to reevaluate whether this approach is outdated.”

On multiple occasions Saturday, Silver contemplated the dilemma between the short-term incentives for teams to lose games to enhance their draft position and the long-term interests of the league.

“It’s the entire community coming together to determine what is in the best interest,” Silver stated. “It is part of my responsibility to remind everyone … I recognize what your short-term interests may be, but we must not lose sight of our fans, and we must not overlook the individuals who support this league consistently.”

Silver made that remark in response to a question regarding the ongoing investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap in an endorsement deal involving then-team sponsor Aspiration and star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Silver indicated that he had no updates on the investigation, which is being carried out by Wachtell Lipton in New York.

“It’s extremely complex. You have a company in bankruptcy. There are thousands of documents, and multiple witnesses that need to be interviewed,” Silver explained.

“I will clarify, just in case anyone is curious, that the presence of the All-Star this weekend has not influenced the timeline of the investigation. Our directive to the Wachtell law firm is to conduct the necessary work and then return with recommendations to the league office, and that is the current status.”

Silver mentioned that he had no timeline for when the investigation might be completed.

However, he did provide an update on the NBA’s expansion plans, indicating that he anticipates the Board of Governors will discuss the matter at its next meeting in March and subsequently begin reaching out to potential expansion cities and owners to assess interest. He emphasized that the league is not considering relocating any of its existing franchises.

“I believe the logical next step would be to say, ‘all right, we’ve had those internal discussions, we’ve made decisions about cities to focus on and what the opportunity is, and now we need to engage with the marketplace,'” Silver stated. “I think that is probably the most crucial step, to determine who may be interested in owning a franchise in specific cities and what the value of that franchise is. There is some work to be done regarding potential conference realignment. That is the next step in this process.”